PHILADELPHIA — Dwyane Wade hasn’t lost his knack for taking over basketball games. And the Philadelphia 76ers will need to find a way to slow down the Miami Heat’s 36-year-old guard if they want to hang onto home court advantage in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Wade controlled the tempo of the second quarter during Monday night’s Game 2 and poured in 21 points before halftime to help send Miami into the locker room with a 56-42 lead.

Early on, the Sixers appeared to be in good shape. Ersan Ilyasova, starting at center in place of Joel Embiid, had success on the offensive glass in the opening minutes and Marco Belinelli came off the bench to rack up nine points in the first quarter.

Time and again, Belinelli would find a sliver of space and fire his trademark off-balanced jumper through the hoop.

Philadelphia, which owns a 1-0 series lead, went up 29-22 after one quarter.

Then Wade did his thing. A three-time NBA champion, Wade has settled into a bench role in his return to the Heat, but the team likes to play through the veteran guard when he’s on the floor.

The plan worked out well Monday, as the tone of the contest changed with Wade weaving through the Sixers’ defense and directing traffic on offense. Meanwhile, the Sixers lost their offensive rhythm after a successful first quarter and shot just 2 of 18 on 3-pointers in the half.

Here are some first-half highlights:

An early three-ball from @marcobelinelli. pic.twitter.com/y5Pg1BVYnu

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 17, 2018

The @MiamiHEAT are #WhiteHot

18-2 run to start the 2nd quarter!

[?] : @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/KLeU0rTgTd

— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2018

Whatever works?

A real life game of hot potato in this on leads to Dario finding a quick one under the basket. Sixers trailing, 54-42. pic.twitter.com/OY3xSeNK5r

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 17, 2018

The bucket that put D-Wade 10th all time in #NBAPlayoff points!#WhiteHot pic.twitter.com/36BHU3FKY2

— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2018

The @MiamiHEAT use a 34-13 2nd Q to take a 56-42 lead into the break!#WhiteHot Wade: 21 PTS (15 in 2nd Q)Dragic: 11 PTS#PhilaUnite Ilyasova: 9 PTS, 6 REB